


Dear Happy

by Stilienski



Series: Sterek ficlets [18]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Crossdressing, Crossdressing Stiles Stilinski, Curtain Fic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Multi, Stiles-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-31
Updated: 2016-12-31
Packaged: 2018-09-13 16:06:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9131644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stilienski/pseuds/Stilienski
Summary: It's not that Stiles despised men's clothing, it's just that he didn't feel all that pretty wearing them. Not as pretty as Lydia with her perfect hair and gorgeous eyes and... Stiles was just going to try it out.Or the fic where Stiles finds himself and batman headscarves along the way.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Whovie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovie/gifts).



> Part of the Secret Santa gift exchange, hope you like it!
> 
> beta by [Lonaargh](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Lonaargh/works) and [JungleJelly](http://archiveofourown.org/users/JungleJelly/pseuds/JungleJelly)

As a lot of these things do, it started out small. It started in bed, on a quiet morning when Stiles was the only one awake.

Lydia had had to work late the previous night and hadn’t quite managed to take off her make-up completely. The powdery stuff on her cheeks was gone, as was her lipstick, but the dark line on her eyelids was still mostly there. A little bit smudged from the night, but Stiles thought it would still serve its purpose perfectly fine. The line always put a nice frame around her eyes. If they’d been open right now, Stiles surely wouldn’t be able to look at anything but her eyes. Sure, they were gorgeous on their own but the dark line around them just drew a little bit more attention to them, it was the frame around the work of art.

Lydia’s eyes surely were a work of art, such a vibrant green. Stiles’ mind soon started wandering to Derek’s eyes, which were definitely just as gorgeous as Lydia’s. The colors were simply magnificent. And even after all their time together, even after all the hours Stiles had spent gazing at Derek over candle-lit dinners or over the edges of their books, he still hadn’t yet figured out exactly which colors were hiding in the eyes looking back at him. Derek’s eyes too had a great frame of dark lashes around them, and on top of that, they were also part of an incredibly handsome face.

Gorgeous eyes, Stiles was surrounded by them. Not for the first time Stiles found himself trying to figure out how the hell he got so lucky as to end up with the two most beautiful people who graced the surface of the earth.

It’s not like he thought he didn’t deserve them or something. He wasn’t that self-deprecating. Stiles knew that he had other qualities. He was a decent person, he was kind and loyal, he was funny and he could make Derek and Lydia laugh. He could make them happy. Stiles knew that counted for something.

He was also pretty smart, not Lydia-smart, but still, he wasn’t stupid by any means. He was smart enough to know that he was in a relationship with two consenting adults who both had their own opinions and thus also their own reasons to love him. Because he knew they both loved him just as he loved both of them. Stiles was not as stupid as to start questioning them about why on earth they would choose to be around him. They had a good thing going for them, Stiles wasn’t going to convince his boyfriend and girlfriend they could have better.

And really, being in a great relationship with two wonderful and gorgeous people was… amazing. Stiles was not going to complain. But… - okay fine there were some points for complaints. The relationship was great, he would never be able to explain to anyone why it worked out between the three of them but it just did. The thing is, sometimes… sometimes it stung.

Whenever Stiles introduced Lydia and/or Derek to a colleague or a friend, the guaranteed response was some sort of reference as to how out of Stiles’ league the two of them were. Not that they aren’t. Out of his league that is. At least when it comes to looks.

Sure, Stiles had eyes of his own. He knew that objectively speaking he wasn’t so bad himself. He was decent looking. He had that whole cute nerdish thing going for him, some sort of boyish charm that he’d never quite grown out of. He knew some people totally go for that kind of thing. Derek and Lydia for example.

But Stiles also knew that he simply wasn’t as ruggedly handsome as Derek. Or as pretty, as soft yet badass-looking as Lydia. What Stiles was trying to say was that he’ll never get a modeling contract, while that was a reasonable possibility for both of his partners. Of course, this was all fairly superficial blabber, but sometimes Stiles wanted to look pretty too, pretty like Lydia, with her delicate frames of eyeliner.

 

The first time he tried it, he was home alone. He went out and bought his own little eyeliner pencil because he was sure there was some sort of hygienic safety hazard in sharing things that he was fairly certain he was going to poke his eyes with. Also, Lydia always notices when Stiles used her stuff, and he wasn’t particularly craving an ass kicking today, so…

The lines came out wonky and uneven, smudged and not close enough to his waterline or lash line (he may have been watching a lot of tutorials on youtube, but Stiles was still trying to catch up with all of the make-up lingo. Also, these tutorials made it look way too easy, Stiles was not prepared). Basically, it looked like a toddler tried to stab Stiles’ eyes out with a crayon, but Stiles would be lying if he didn’t at least see the potential in the little pencil and what it did to his face.

He kept practicing, not just that particular day, but whenever he was home alone he just went to the bathroom and tried it out. And when it finally started to actually look good, it made him feel good as well. He liked the way he looked with the thin lines around his eyes. He smudged the thin lines a little bit these days, to make them look softer, not as sharp as Lydia does it. He didn’t look very different, at least he didn’t think so. It wasn’t too harsh or dark or thick, he didn’t think he looked emo or goth or punk or whatever, he just looked like himself, like Stiles. It was just about drawing more attention to his eyes, which, by the way, were prettier than he ever thought they could be.

After wiping away a little spot of black on his cheek, he leaned back from the mirror and grinned widely. It was the first time he decided to leave it on. It wasn’t even much of a decision, it wasn’t like he put a lot of conscious thought in it, it just looked good and it felt right. Stiles winked at himself and chuckled before walking back to the couch and finishing the article he was working on.

 

Derek came home first when Stiles was already preparing dinner. Stiles was feeling too confident to let the double-take his boyfriend does get to him. Stiles just smiled at him.

“Welcome home, how was work?”

“I-… it was….” Derek muttered before giving up and coming to stand right in front of Stiles, cupping his cheek as he carefully inspects his face. Stiles saw Derek’s eyes grow wider in that same look the gigantic dork always had when he was watching a particularly nice nature documentary. Fascination and wonder and… it had been ages since anyone looked at Stiles like that. “I thought Lydia would be home late all week…”

Stiles was only confused for a little while before he laughed. “I did it myself, you idiot. No offence to Lyds, but after dropping her favorite mug last night, I was not about to let her come anywhere near my eye with any kind of sharp object.”

“Well, it looks great on you. Your eyes look so big like this…” Derek marveled till he finally kissed Stiles softly.

“It looks great on Lydia so I thought I’d try it out too. I’m glad you like it. Can you hand me that whisk, hon?” Stiles was ridiculously happy that Derek liked the whole eyeliner thing. Because if it was up to Stiles (and it was up to Stiles), the lines around his eyes were pretty much there to stay. He finished up dinner with Derek’s arms around his waist.

As soon as Stiles put the last plate in the dishwasher, Derek pulled him to the couch. Stiles couldn’t help but laugh delightedly as his boyfriend put some show on in the background and started to make out with him as if they were teenagers again.

“Seriously, Derek? Netflix and Chill? And here I was, thinking that the salt and pepper beard meant you were getting old, big guy.” Derek let out an annoyed huff against Stiles’ neck. “No, honestly, Derek, I’m surprised you were even able to turn on the whole shebang and you didn’t even curse once about this whole new ridiculous technology business.”

“I never do that.” Derek grumped.

“You used to do it all the time, der bear. Now you just wait till Lyds or I are around to do it for you.”

“Oh shut up.” And with the kiss that followed, Stiles really didn’t have any choice but to shut up.

By the time Lydia came home the guys were cuddling on the couch and watching Friends for the hundredth time. She walked into the living room and didn’t bother going around the couch, just leaned over the back of it and kissed the top of their heads.

“Dinner in the microwave?” she asked, even though she already knew that her boys would have saved her dinner like they did every night.

Lydia first saw the eyeliner when Derek and Stiles both joined her at the kitchen table so she wouldn’t have to eat dinner alone. She gave it a long critical look before finally nodding approvingly.

“I’m impressed you didn’t poke an eye out. It’s actually really well done. Next time we go out, you’re doing mine as well.”

 

*****

 

Stiles never even had a second where he felt weird about the eyeliner. Guys did it all the time (and gave it ridiculous names like guyliner and such). He’d started wearing it whenever he was up early enough to actually get it done in time to go to work. No one looked differently at him for it and the people who said something about it only gave him compliments. The next thing was a little weirder than eyeliner he supposes. But he only doubted it for a minute before deciding it was a very good idea. He had to be patient for it though since he’d have to grow out his hair before he’d be able to do what he wanted.

He saw it in one of Lydia’s magazines. A pretty girl with a fairly short hairdo and wearing some kind of headband in it. It had a cute colorful floral design and it was tied on top. It made him think of his mom, which was really the deciding factor in making up his mind about it.

It took a month to grow out his hair to the length he wanted it to be. He let the hairdresser give it a decent cut and couldn’t have been happier with the result. It was floofy and soft and it made his face look a little softer too. He really liked his long hair, even if the whole headband thing turned out to not be for him after all, the hair was still nice.

 

He worked from home before noon and finished his column for the week and on top of that an extra article that his boss may or may not have asked for (Stiles honestly couldn’t remember). The paper he worked for had a very flexible system of “clock in online and do whatever you want from home”, but he still had to go to the office to turn in his final versions of everything. Because he was done before the deadline, he decided to reward himself for a job well done with a shopping trip.

First the essentials: a bunch of basic shirts. He bought a couple of graphic t’s and a couple of them without any kind of designs on them, which was his idea of formal wear. When he got to the counter, there were a bunch of small things there. Including some nail polish that was the exact same shade of rusty red as one of the shirts he just picked up.

The promotional piece of paper with “Buy four get one for free” made him pick out some other colors as well. A dark blue, a black and a yellow one because Batman, a purple one and a pink one just because he liked how the shade looked next to his grey shirt. Also because Lydia said last time they went shopping, that he needed to broaden the color scheme of his wardrobe.

Only after going in and out of a couple of other shops Stiles saw what he actually came for. A store with cheap accessories, which included a lot of hair stuff. The shop was quite busy with a whole bunch of teenage girls running around and Stiles didn’t even know what half of the stuff on the shelves was for. He was way out of his depth here. Luckily one of the employees caught sight of his lost look and came to his rescue with a kind yet tired sounding “What can I do for you, sir?”

“Erm… headbands. I’d like to see some headbands or… whatever it is really that you tie around your head.”

“Okay, do you want a type of scarf that you can just tie yourself or do you want one with elastic that you can just slide on?” Oooooh, options, Stiles liked those.

“I don’t really know. I guess either is fine. Can I just see which one is the prettiest?” He asked excitedly to which the girl chuckled.

“Sure. They’re at the back of the store mostly,” She started leading the way and Stiles followed with a happy skip in his step. “We’ve got a couple deals at the counter too, but I think it’s best if you start right here.” They arrived at a bright colorful display that Stiles positively gawked at.

“So how do these work? Can I try one of the scarf thingies on?” The saleswoman hid her surprise as quickly as she was capable of and then helped him try on a couple that he liked.

There was a light grey one with dusty pink flowers that he just couldn’t resist because of the nail polish he’d bought earlier. And then there were the brightly colored comic-themed ones. A couple with a pattern of superhero logos like Batman and Spider-Man. There was a red one with some comic panels on it and a white one with popping ‘WHAM’s and ‘BAM’s and ‘OOF’s. And only after looking at all of those, he saw all the Star Wars designs.

Stiles couldn’t resist any of them. He splurged way too much on headbands. Luckily he actually tried some on so it wasn’t like he was buying them all even though he wasn’t yet sure if he would like the look of it on him. Because sweet Jesus, he loved it. They were perfect in his floofy hair. He couldn’t stop smiling all the way from that one display till he was back home.

 

For once Lydia was home early, which was absolutely perfect. “Lyds! Come teach me how to do my nails, please?”

“First the liner and now nail polish? What’s gotten into you, babe?” She sounded gleeful about the whole thing, so Stiles just shrugged.

“I like looking pretty too. Come on! Come show me. I want the pink one today!”

“Oh this one is gorgeous. I’m borrowing this color from you soon, it’s perfect with that blouse I got last week.” Lydia said as she started on Stiles’ pinky finger.

“Sure! Do you have bright red? Because I did get this red one but it’s not very… it doesn’t pop, you know?” He bounced his knee and still couldn’t wipe the ridiculous smile off his face. The color looked so pretty, he couldn’t wait to put his headband on too.

“We’ll go through my box of polishes together tonight. Now sit still!”

It’s then that the horrid realization dawned on him. “Oh no. This requires patience, doesn’t it?”

“Yes. A lot of it. But it’s going to be worth it.” Stiles didn’t know a lot of these things, but Lydia seemed to be really good with the whole nail thing. She was almost done with the nails on the first hand. “I don’t say this often, but this was a good idea, Stiles. I’ve always liked your hands. You should draw attention to them.” Lydia said approvingly.

In answer, Stiles just leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. He was feeling so good with all the new stuff he was trying out and it was all topped off by the people he loved actually liking it too. Well, he didn’t yet know Derek’s reaction to this particular change, but there was some part of Stiles that knew there were few things he could do to lose their love.

“You can’t wear any red with this color though.” Lydia kept up the conversation.

Stiles huffed. “I do have eyes, Lyds, I know. But you’ll have to bear with me at home because I am not giving up snuggling with you and Derek while being in my favorite comfy hoodie. No nail polish can stop me from that.”

“You’ll have to be careful when changing. I swear, Stiles, if you fuck up this free manicure I’m giving you, you won’t ever find that red monstrosity again.”

He gasped indignantly. “Monstrosity? _Monstrosity?_ You do realize you’re talking about the hoodie that I wore for every single exam I aced in high school and university, right? The hoodie I was wearing in the Jungle when we first all hooked up together. The hoodie I was wearing when Derek did that ridiculous proposal. The hoodie that I wore to every single job interview. That _monstrosity_ you’re insulting here is the one piece of clothing that ties all the good parts of my life together!”

“Stiles, you’ve had that thing for literal decades. It’s barely keeping itself together. No, scratch that, it’s not even doing that. It’s been patched up so many times you can barely see what the original parts are and what’s a new piece of fabric!”

“That’s what gives it character! It’s an old-timer! It’s _retro_ or _vintage_ or whatever you call that sort of stuff.” Lydia just gave him a deadpan stare but knew better than to continue the argument.

 

After that they just had their regular catching up sessions. Discussing their respective jobs and Lydia announced her upcoming (probable) promotion. Stiles still thought they should be throwing a party for that, but Lydia only wanted to do it once it was official. (They both knew it was going to happen and Stiles thought official confirmation was definitely not needed). As a compromise, Lydia promised to treat them all with dinner and movies on Friday and they’d throw a big party with their friends and families in a couple months.

Their happy buzz about the promotion was only dampened a little bit when Stiles squawked at hearing Lydia say that not only did the nail polish need another coat to make it look really good, it also needed a clear topcoat to protect it. Seriously, the amount of time all these people put in their nails and faces just to look and feel good. Stiles was only just starting to understand the effort it would take to keep this up. He quickly decided it would be totally worth it if he could combine it with Stiles-Lydia bonding time and if it always made him feel this good in his skin.

“So what would you like for dinner tonight? I really have no idea what to make… I don’t even know what kind of stuff we still have that I could use. Should I get groceries?” Lydia smiled fondly at his rambling as she finished off the topcoat on the last couple of nails. “Seriously, Lyds, what do you want for dinner? I owe you for the manicure.”

“I don’t think I want you messing up your nails just to make some food. Let’s order in tonight. Or I’ll just text Derek to pick up some sushi on his way home. Then we don’t even have to do the dishes and we can just catch up on a couple of shows.”

Stiles nodded and smiled softly. “Sounds like a plan.”

“It’s been too long since I’ve been able to have a quiet night in with my boys. And with you looking all gorgeous like this, you never know what might happen later.” Oh, Stiles definitely liked that wicked and promising smile on her face.

“This waste of time is so worth it.” He said excitedly and wiggled his fingers in front of her face before dashing off.

 

After that little quip about his new looks doing that to Lydia, Stiles decided to go full out tonight. He was going to blow them both away with the things he bought today. While Lydia made the living room ready for romantic snuggles by lighting candles all over the place, and as they were waiting for Derek to get home with dinner, Stiles went upstairs to get ready. Being afraid to touch anything because of his nails, made it really hard to get changed in his tightest dark jeans and his new light grey shirt.

It wasn’t just difficult, it was damn near impossible is what it was. And that’s not even talking about him trying to open a bottle of water with that stuff on his nails, the stuff that was apparently so fragile that he couldn’t even let anything brush against it.

Stiles touched up his eyeliner and took his time brushing his hair. What? It really was exceptionally soft and he just liked the feeling of the brush going through it. When it looked acceptably fluffy he started trying different ways to tie the floral headscarf. He even took his phone to look up some youtube tutorials on how to do it. First, he tried one with a knot right in the middle of his head, he didn’t particularly like that. He also decided against the one where there were still parts of the scarf hanging at the back of his neck, thinking that would look better with really long hair.

The cutest one in his opinion was the one where they tied the headscarf on the side in a little bow. It took him a while to get the bow to sit just like he wanted it to, but he got there in the end, nail polish intact and all. Stiles gave himself an appreciative once over in the mirror. He looked pretty, at least he thought so himself, but there was no denying he looked… feminine or girly…. or whatever. Stiles didn’t mind that at all, and considering his girlfriend just spent over an hour doing his nails, he figured she wouldn’t mind it either.

He was a bit nervous about Derek liking it though. Maybe this whole thing just wasn’t Derek’s thing. Maybe he’d rather Stiles work out and get a bit more in shape and manly looking. Manly, feminine, girly or boyish…. Stiles wasn’t sure it would matter all that much, it’s not like his important parts were changing. No not those parts, you perv! You know, his personality parts. If Lydia didn’t mind, Derek wouldn’t make a fuss of it either. And Stiles was feeling good and pretty and like he could dance all night long, that had to count for something to his partners.

He was just taking a deep breath and getting ready to show himself off to his cuties downstairs when Lydia called out to Stiles to come have dinner. Great timing. He couldn’t contain his excitement and practically bounced all the way down the stairs till he got to the candle lit living room where Derek was getting the sushi out of the take-out bag and putting it all out on the coffee table. He looked up as soon as he heard Stiles make his last not-very-graceful hop from the last step.

“Thanks for getting the sushi, der bear. How was work?” Stiles tried to go for casual, but failed as he couldn’t hide his ridiculous smile or the excitement in his voice.

“Oh my god, Stiles, you look so cute.” Lydia squealed gleefully as she chose that moment to come in from the kitchen, a bottle of coke in hand. “That bandana is gorgeous,” she quickly put the coke down next to the sushi and bounded over to him. “I’ve got to be honest I wasn’t all that sure about you growing out your hair, but this…” The smile she gave him was tugging at Stiles’ heartstrings, and so did the kiss that followed.

It couldn’t distract him from Derek’s lack of reaction for long though. Although a lack of reaction is probably a reaction in and of itself, so really, it wasn’t a lack of reaction… which was worrisome. And Derek’s confused glare wasn’t really helping the situation.

“Derek! Say something. Isn’t he cute?” Lydia tried, but still no words came from him, instead Derek just nodded dumbly as he took a couple steps closer.

“Are those… pink flowers?” Derek asked hesitantly to which Stiles let out some vague affirmative sound.

“I also have a couple with Star Wars and Batman and Spiderman designs. But I like the flowers too.” He confessed.

“And they go perfect with your nail polish!” Lydia added enthusiastically.

“Nail polish?” Derek asked curiously but didn’t wait for an answer as he just took Stiles’ hand to look for himself. Stiles let Derek and Lydia inspect him thoroughly, Derek even softly tracing a couple of his fingers and feeling the smooth surface of the painted nails. Then his fingers went to Stiles’ hair, and not for the first time since Stiles had started growing it out, did he comment on it. “It’s so soft.” Stiles had heard him say that at least 3 times a day, but still hadn’t grown tired of the compliment. Because as it turns out, “soft” was exactly the thing he was trying to go for. “Soft” had become his whole… aesthetic (to be a bit of a hipster about it).

“You look so pretty…” Derek concluded with a soft sigh.

“Well, thank you, babe.” Stiles wasn’t used to this. Usually whenever Lydia or Derek or anyone gave him a compliment, Stiles would just laugh it off. Simply because he never really agreed with it. Sure he looked fine before, but getting a compliment from someone who simply looked so much better, always made him feel like it was a bit ridiculous. But this time all he could do was blush and let himself be kissed and cuddled and led to the couch.

 

*****

 

It was months later when things progressed a little bit further. Stiles was sharing the bathroom with Derek in the morning, both of them getting ready to go to work. Derek was only just getting out of the shower as Stiles was already tying his Batman headscarf. Which was a fairly difficult task, considering he was mostly just using the mirror to ogle a naked dripping wet Derek.

“Need some help with that?” Derek asked with a smirk just before Stiles’ fumbling fingers dropped the messily tied headband so it fell on his nose. Now he couldn’t even ogle his wet boyfriend anymore. Derek just answered Stiles’ pout with a chuckle and tied the headband back in the place it was supposed to be. “Looking good today, babe.” He said as he kissed Stiles’ button nose.

“Well you’re not looking so bad yourself. Have you ever considered permanently walking around like you just got out of the shower? Because I can guarantee you the world will appreciate it immensely.”

“The world already has you and Lydia to appreciate, it will have to settle for me being dry and clothed.”

“Settle? _Settle?_ You are the hottest dude I’ve ever met, whether you’ve come right out of the shower or you’re wearing a v-neck shirt. Or whether you’re in a button-down for a dinner with your mom or you just woke up and are wearing that ridiculous wolf onesie. No one _settles_ for you, Der, anyone would either strive to be you or to be with you.”

Derek shook his head lightly. “You’re ridiculous.”

“But you love me anyway, so what does that say about you, huh?” Stiles teased and Derek answered with a little kiss.

“That I’ve got impeccable taste.”

“Well you won’t see me argue that statement any time soon. Now would you get dressed already?”

“Someone just told me I should stay naked and wet all the time.” He started getting dried off anyway, and Stiles totally helped by swatting a towel at him. It was _helping_ , not payback for sassing him. “And if it’s not going fast enough for your liking, you could always help me get dressed. Because as I recall it you were the one who took off my clothes last night.”

“Oh, really, is that how you recall it? Well, then of course it’s only fair I help you now.” Stiles smirked.

It’s moments like these that even after all these years still made Stiles’ heart beat a lot faster in his chest. The sheer intimacy of it was just a little bit too much sometimes. Not that he was complaining about this kind of intimacy, at all, not even when Derek’s wet hair sent drops all over Stiles. Toweling Derek down ended up more like cuddling him with the fluffy towel, especially when the big grumpy teddy bear started shivering. Neither of them minded the lack of efficiency much. It wouldn’t be too much of a disaster if Derek didn’t make it to work in time for once.

Stiles hung the towels they’d both used on the rack while Derek put his pants back on. And really, there was freshly showered dripping wet Derek, but then there was Derek with messy hair and only wearing jeans. Fine, all kinds of Derek were hot and made Stiles’ heart do funny little complicated gymnastic stunts, but these two were special because no one else would ever get to see these kinds of Derek.

Derek had his back turned to him, but Stiles could see him looking around searching for where he’d put his shirt. Luckily Stiles spotted it first and bounded over to get it before Derek could. He kept it just out of Derek’s reach and pursed his lips for a second. “I’ll trade you this shirt, but I’m warning you, the price is fairly high.” The corners of Derek’s lips tugged up into a gentle smile.

He scraped his beard on Stiles’ cheek, kissed the corner of his mouth before he finally cupped Stiles neck and gave him a deep long kiss. “Stiles, kissing you is a reward, not a price to pay.” Derek added in a low voice.

“Oh god, you’re such a cheesy sap.” Stiles huffed out on a laugh.

Derek just nodded and pulled him closer. “Yeah, but you love me.”

“With all my butt.” Stiles said solemnly. “Because you know, it’s bigger than my heart, and also because I know it’s one of the parts you love most about me.”

“Now would you give me my shirt? I should’ve known that sharing the bathroom with you would not save me any time. I’m going to be late to work if you don’t cut it out soon, Stiles.”

“Alright, alright.” Stiles muttered and instead of just giving Derek his shirt back, he helped Derek put it on. Which probably didn’t help at all and only made it so Derek got stuck halfway through.

And there it was, Derek wearing a v-neck shirt. His muscles filled the shirt out perfectly. The v-neck cut gave everyone a little bit of a peek of his firm chest, and any kind of short sleeved shirt showed off Derek’s arms. The shirt was a win. Stiles didn’t even know why Derek owned anything but v-neck t-shirts. Oh, yes he did, that’s right, because Derek filled out any piece of clothing perfectly.

Which Stiles had always been a little bit jealous about. Not because he wanted to be as muscly as his boyfriend, just because no clothes fit him that perfectly. His clothes were all too loose. And it’s not that he bought them a size too big. The size was right, if he didn’t want to walk around with shirts and pants that were too short, that is. Seriously, girls’ clothing would probably fit him better.

And hey, there was a thought. For a second Stiles just stopped in his tracks. It would look nice. All the floral patterns, the pretty colors… the _dresses_? He let out a soft “huh” at the thought.

“What?”

“Nothing, just thinking…” Stiles said, still looking at the mirror, inspecting if his figure could possibly suit a dress. Derek came up behind him, wrapped his arms around Stiles’ waist and put his chin on Stiles’ shoulder.

“About what?”

Stiles tilted his head sideways. “Whether I’d look good in a dress or not…” He could feel Derek freeze up against him. “Because you know, you actually fill out the shirts the way they’re supposed to be. But they never seem to fit me. It’s why I use layers, but Lyds is always complaining about that. So I just thought… maybe girls’ clothes fit me better. I’m not sure though. Shaving my legs would be a hell of a lot of work.”

It took exactly 4 seconds for Derek to snap out of the imagination of seeing his boyfriend in a dress. When he finally did, he turned Stiles around and lifted him up on the bathroom cupboard to kiss him senseless. When he finally let Stiles up to breathe, the man on top of the cupboard just let out a breathless laugh.

“So I’ll take it that you want me to give it a try.”

“God, yes.” was all that Derek could groan out before he started kissing again. Which meant they were most likely not making it to their respective job places in time. The next time they came up for air, their lips were swollen red. “Give me your phone.” But before Stiles could ask why, Derek had already spotted it next to the sink.

Turns out Derek was reduced to a freaking teenager again and had decided they were both playing hooky today. To do what, Stiles wasn’t sure, but Derek had called both of them in sick so, it was happening, and it’s not like Stiles was complaining. Still sitting next to the sink, he hooked his fingers in Derek’s belt loops to pull him closer again.

“So what’s the plan here?” Stiles breathed out against his lips.

“Last time you and Lydia surprised me, let’s surprise her today. We’re going shopping.”

“Oh, you’re taking me shopping, are you, big guy? And where do you suppose we’re going to find me a dress?”

Derek shrugged, “We’ll make a date out of it, be cheesy and hold hands while window shopping. I’ll buy you ice cream and you’ll drive me crazy when you lick it off the cone. And if we find you something you want to buy then that’s great and if we don’t, we’ll make Lyds teach us the art of online shopping.”

“Sounds good to me. But the shops aren’t open for another couple of hours,” Stiles said with a wicked smile on his lips. “Let’s make out on the couch first.”

 

It did indeed turn into a cheesy date. Derek made good on his promise and bought Stiles an ice cream cone. He was smart enough to make them both start wandering through the shopping street instead of sitting down to eat the ice cream. That way Derek didn’t have to look at Stiles licking the cone the entire time. But he should have known that walking and eating ice cream at the same time was way too much for Stiles’ brain to deal with. Derek was in love with a child that couldn’t even keep from spilling ice cream all over himself.

Derek had been pointing at a couple of windows on their way, but Stiles kept shaking his head. The dresses they saw everywhere weren’t really what he had in mind. Sure they looked pretty, but they didn’t seem very comfortable. How would anyone bend down in something that short and tight?

“Okay, so what is it that you do want?” Derek asked curiously after a while of his suggestions being shut down.

“Something comfy and pretty. I don’t want anything sexy. We’ve already got you and Lyds to look sexy and amazing and badass. I just want to feel pretty.”

“So, nothing too short.”

“I want pretty colors too, Der. Something… I don’t know… playful?” Derek shot him a gentle smile at that.

“Yeah, that would be a lot better for you than anything I’ve seen so far.” He said, before leaning in and giving Stiles a slightly sticky and very cold ice cream kiss on his cheek. “Though I wouldn’t mind seeing you in some skimpy little lingerie nightgown thing either.” The huff Stiles felt against his neck probably indicated that Derek was at least partially joking about it, but…well there’s a thought…

“I’ll save the negligee for your birthday.” Stiles promised, making Derek choke on his ice cream. And Derek didn’t even have the chance to get revenge for that, because it was then that they walked past a little shop with all kinds of clothes in fifties style. And it had the most gorgeous dresses in the shop window.

All exciting thoughts about Stiles in some skimpy negligee disappeared when Derek saw his boyfriend’s eyes filled with wonder and joy as he practically skipped over to get closer to the window.

“Look at the one with the cherries!” Really, all the dresses were absolutely perfect and Stiles couldn’t wait to try one on. The skirts were longer than those of any of the dresses they’d seen so far and there were a couple of mannequins that weren’t all that big in the boob department and still the dress looked perfect on them. Which was exactly what Stiles needed.

So he took Derek’s hand and pulled him into the shop, a tiny bell chiming as they opened the door. A man greeted them from behind the counter, but it was a saleswoman who actually came up to them and asked how she could help.

“I’d like to try on a couple of dresses?” Stiles asked, a little bit unsure about how she’d react. He saw her eyes go to the headband in his hair and she just gave them both a friendly smile.

“I’m not sure how the fit would be on you, would you mind if I measure you first? Otherwise I might waste a lot of your time if you keep having to try on different sizes.”

“I wouldn’t mind at all!” and just like that, all uncertainty was gone and Stiles was back to being ridiculously excited. Feeling like a kid in a toystore. She showed them both the way to the fitting rooms, Derek taking a seat in one of the comfy chairs across the stalls.

The lady took Stiles’ measurements with the utmost efficiency and the bare minimum of awkward moments and told him his estimated size. After that she let him loose in the store again to go and choose some things to try on. Stiles and Derek were both curious as to how the pastel colored floral patterns or the red and white polka dots would look on Stiles. And of course he had to try the white one with the cherries.

He tried on one with a floral pattern first. It had very short sleeves that barely covered his shoulders and something the saleswoman described as an a-line skirt (whatever that was supposed to be). All Stiles knew was that it was a wide skirt that flowed down to just past his knees and if he twirled, it would swoosh.

Derek observed him critically as he moved out the fitting room.

“I don’t like the sleeves.” Well okay then. “You’ve got nice shoulders, I don’t think you should cover them up when you don’t have to.” Sure, Stiles could always be appeased by compliments. Please, keep ‘em coming, Hale.

“I’ll try on another one. I think you’re right about the sleeves. Though I really like the little belt thingy, it’s like I actually have a waistline.” Stiles said before going for another twirl in front of the mirror, which is when he finally realized. “Oh my god, where are the pockets? Where do you put your phone?” Which was a very legitimate question, but the saleswoman just laughed at it and motioned for Stiles to go back in to try the next one.

It was different to get dressed in a dress. Which genius came up with putting a zipper in the back where no one could reach it, seriously? And he couldn’t help but feel a little bit naked in one. Still, looking in the mirror didn’t leave a lot of room for any doubts Stiles may have had.

The next one he tried was a dark blue one with small white flowers on it and a slim red belt with a bow on it around the waist. The neckline was different from the first one that dipped down a little bit in the middle, which Stiles guessed would look better on someone with the boobs to fill the dress. He liked the straight neckline of this dress a lot better. On top of all of that, the zipper wasn’t in an impossible place either! It was on the side, going from the skirt to right under his armpit. He could actually reach it and didn’t have to awkwardly ask the saleswoman to help him.

It also had straps instead of sleeves to hold it up, which Derek would have appreciated if he hadn’t been so distracted. You see, the dress also had a low back, and Derek happened to very much like Stiles’ back. He could already imagine Stiles cooking while wearing this, the wiry muscles in his back moving elegantly under the skin. And the fabric of the dress hanging perfectly over Stiles’ little butt.

“The fabric feels nice, it’s a bit heavier than the first one, I don’t feel quite so naked in this one.” Stiles said, not once taking his eyes off his image in the mirror. Thinking he definitely had to shave his legs for this. “What do you think?”

“It’s perfect.” Derek stated matter-of-factly. He already knew that if Stiles preferred any of the other dresses, Derek would still buy him this one as well. Because it really was. Perfect, that is.

Stiles was already back in the fitting room when he shouted triumphantly at Derek, and to anyone else who happened to be listening. “This one even has pockets! You’re right, it is perfect!”

The cherry dress also had sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, so Stiles begrudgingly gave it back to the sales lady and went home with the dark blue dress that Derek loved so much and the red dress with white polka dots.

Derek paid for both of them. “Consider it an early birthday present for myself.” He said as Stiles started protesting.

Stiles refused to go into the lingerie store today though. He even managed to hold his ground when Derek gave him the puppy eyes. “I told you it would be a birthday present for you, and birthday presents are supposed to be a surprise. So suck it up and move along, Der-bear.”

Derek pouted all the way back to the car, till Stiles remembered the whole plan of “cheesy couples day out” and pulled Derek in a photo booth. The initial plan was to just make out, but hey, they could just take a couple pics now they were there.

With a final kiss, Stiles finally got off Derek’s lap and pulled his boyfriend out of the photo booth. “If we really want to surprise Lyds, then I still need to shave my legs and make something decent for dinner. So, let’s head home now and I’ll start shaving, while you get the groceries and then I’ll cook dinner while you do some vacuuming.”

“Oh, pretty and bossy, are we?” But Derek still followed right along.

“Sure, complain some more, I’m almost forgetting the idea I had for your birthday. What was it again? Linger… linger…..?” Stiles teased right back.

Derek glared for a fraction of a second before he shrugged. “Well if you forget the lingerie, I’ll get you naked, that’s just fine by me.” Stiles had nothing to sass back to that.

 

Stiles learned very quickly that shaving his legs took a hell of a lot of time but wasn’t actually as hard as he’d thought it’d be. It didn’t have all the awkward angles his face had. A lot less chances to cut himself with the razorblade. But dear god, he was starting to understand why Lydia always took so long in the shower, actually, he didn’t know how she got out so quickly. This was ridiculous. Legs were too much hairy surface to shave. And he couldn’t bring himself to stop right over his knee, if he was doing this, he was doing it properly. His legs were going to be baby soft goddamnit. All of his legs. Both of them, but you know, his whole legs.

He’d never thought there’d come a time in his life where he’d be so put off and surprised to discover that legs have a front and a back and oh dear god, there was hair all over. He couldn’t even see that part properly! How did people do this?

Luckily Lydia’s shaving cream smelled heavenly, he was going to be soft and he was going to smell good and ooooh…

He finally let the shower flush the rest of the shaving cream away and he couldn’t believe how sensitive his skin felt now. This had all kinds of perks. He liked the look of it, he liked the smell of it and oh dear lord it felt great. After the nail polish, another waste of time that was totally worth it.

 

Even the feeling of the dress flowing around his legs was different now all of that stupid hair was out of the way. It felt so freaking soft, everything was _soft_ , (he really needed to look up some synonyms for soft). For tonight he had chosen the dark blue dress that Derek had liked so much. Sure it was a surprise for Lydia, but there was nothing wrong with Derek and Stiles enjoying it just as much as she hopefully would.

Also, he had a headscarf that was the same dark blue. Thank god Lydia had been smart and adamant enough to convince Stiles that he should have a couple of plain headbands too, because none of his patterned ones would have agreed with this dress.

 

Another perk of putting time into shaving his legs: the very appreciative once-over Derek gave him as soon as he came downstairs. (Yes, Stiles had actually taken more time getting ready than Derek had needed to do the groceries. Shush, it was totally worth it.)

Derek wouldn’t be Derek if he didn’t say something awkward at the sight of his boyfriend all prettied up for the night. “You need shoes.” Stiles just smiled fondly in answer.

“True, but I’m not going to wear heels, this is about being comfortable just as much as it’s about feeling pretty. Heels are not worth it, they will never be worth it. So what you’re saying is that I need some white Converse.”

“I don’t care what, you just need shoes, your toes will get cold like this. Would you at least put on some socks?” Stiles had a boyfriend who was concerned about his toes getting cold. That’s the kind of guy you want in your life. Lovely, ridiculous, caring.

Stiles walked up to Derek just to put his arms around Derek’s neck as he gave him a little kiss. “I’ll go put them on as soon as I get the pasta cooking, to save some time, okay?”

“I guess that’ll have to do.” Derek shrugged. “Anything I can help with for dinner?”

“Nah, just sit there and look handsome. It’s very encouraging to know I’m cooking for such gorgeous company.” Stiles put on his thinking face for a second. “Actually, would you mind holding up a picture of Lydia while you’re sitting there looking handsome? You know, just to be extra encouraging.” He teased as he put on an apron, as to not mess up the dress Derek had bought him.

Derek shook his head incredulously, not believing he’d been together with this fool for so many years now. “I’ll set the table then.” He gave Stiles another kiss. “And you look amazing in that dress. It makes me want to ask you to dance, even though there’s no music playing.” Sure, Stiles had pretty much always known Derek was a corny romantic, but something so genuinely heartwarmingly sweet still made him blush.

With watching Stiles handling the pots and pans, seeing the easy look of contentment on Stiles’ face while he was doing something he loved, Derek almost forgot that he still had some cleaning to do. He couldn’t leave the kitchen without kissing the base of Stiles’ neck though, that back had been distracting him for far too long now.

 

An hour later, Lydia came home to a clean apartment with the scent of a delicious home-cooked meal in the air. There’d never been a lot of discussion about who’d do the cleaning or the cooking around the house. Lydia had the most time consuming job, even while they’d still been in college Lydia was the one with the most majors to focus on. Stiles had always liked cooking anyway, so that had never been a problem and Derek just believed in doing his fair share around the house. His mom had always insisted on the kids doing their part in keeping the place clean.

Still, Lydia never failed to appreciate the effort her boys put into all of it. They were always done with everything before she came home, so even though she worked long hours, she knew that the evenings were all about relaxing with Derek and Stiles. In return, she put money aside every week so they could have someone else wash and iron their clothes. Really, she’d learned her lesson after Stiles had managed to ruin a whole load of washing with one of his red shirts or flannels mixed in it.

The point is, she appreciated the hell out of the life they’d built here and it was moments like this that made her realize that the most. Moments where she came home to see Derek fluff up some throw pillows or dust off the picture frames on the shelf while staring at them with a dreamy smile. Moments where she came home to Stiles singing in the kitchen or even pulling her into an impromptu dance. Or like today, where she just had time to notice a couple of candles burning in the living room before Derek came to greet her with a kiss and her fluffy slippers, warmed from the time Derek had put them on the heater for her.

“Hey, babe, glad you’re home.”

“Hey,” she said before pulling him in for a longer kiss. “How was your day?”

Derek ducked his head as if he felt guilty about something before giving her an excited smile. “Stiles and I played hooky today.” Oh for god’s sake… they were supposed to be adults. But she just rolled her eyes fondly.

“Don’t tell me if you just watched Netflix and spent the day having sex, because I’ll be really jealous and disappointed if neither of you can get it up again tonight.” How Derek had spent 9 years with both Lydia and Stiles and still managed to blush at things like that was beyond Lydia.

“We went shopping.” He admitted. “But we spent our money very wisely.” She raised her eyebrows at him judgingly. “I promise you’ll love it.” There was that excited glint in Derek’s eyes again as he leaned down to kiss her one more time before leading her to the kitchen.

 

Derek was right, she did love it. Stiles was too concentrated on whatever it was that he was putting in the oven to notice they were standing in the kitchen door, but… he was beautiful. A hand went to her mouth as she gasped in shock, and she leaned back into Derek’s chest while they just watched Stiles. When he finally realized they were standing there, his lips stretched into an impossibly wide smile.

“Hey, Lyds! How was work? Derek bought me a dress!” As if she hadn’t seen that yet. He even twirled for her. Lydia could safely say that Stiles was the most adorable person she’d ever had the pleasure of meeting.

“You look gorgeous, baby. You’re so pretty.” She said with admiration in her voice.

“Yeah?” Stiles’ eyes twinkled with pure happiness and neither Derek nor Lydia could keep from going up to him and kissing his blushing cheeks. He allowed them a second of foolish cuddling before pushing them away. “Okay, okay, I just took off my _‘Kiss the cook’_ apron, guys. It’s dinner time. So, sit your gorgeous asses down and appreciate the food while it’s still hot. Appreciate it in moderation though, I’ve got a cake in the oven for dessert.”

Derek turned on the radio for a bit of background noise while Stiles set the last pan on their little table for three.

“So, how was work, Lyds?” Stiles asked, guiltily realizing he’d kind of skipped over that part by going ‘ _oh look at me and my pretty dress’_.

“It was good. The research my team has been doing into early onset dementia came up with a couple of new findings that should make it into at least 3 medical journals. I was wondering if you could proofread my articles?” Which was another reason Lydia loved Stiles, honest, she didn’t just love him for his pretty face. He was one of the few people who could actually keep up a conversation with her when she talked about her work. She also knew the subject of her most recent studies was something very close to Stiles’ heart.  He’d read the articles anyway, and this way she could make use of his ability to turn even the most serious subject into a nicely flowing text.

“Any time, you know that.” Stiles agreed easily enough.

“So, you guys went shopping without me, huh?” Derek’s and Stiles’ eyes went wide at that. “Well, you picked out something too pretty, so it’s not like I can complain much, but still…” The way she left the sentence hanging was a cue for Stiles or Derek to find a way to make it up to her.

“You can be the one to take the dress off of me tonight!” Stiles offered at the same time as Derek made his suggestion.

“You get to be the one to take him shopping for lingerie.” Clearly that suggestion won Lydia’s interest. “And it was my idea, that I got during our trip, so really, you should be grateful we went shopping today.” Derek concluded.

Stiles squinted at Derek as he pointed his fork at him. “I don’t know whether to feel offended or flattered at the way you’re just using my body to come in Lydia’s good graces again.” Both Lydia and Derek answered with a resounding vote for ‘flattered’.

Derek and Lydia put away the dishes while Stiles got the cake out of the oven and put it on the counter to cool off for a bit. “No, Derek, be patient!” He pulled Derek’s hand away just before it could touch the cake, because of course Derek had to try to taste it the second it was out of the tin.

Instead of pulling his hand out of Stiles’ grasp, Derek just closed it around Stiles’ fingers and pulled Stiles into his chest. “If I can’t have the cake yet, you’ll have to give me something just as sweet as a substitute.” Derek said with that kind of smile on his face that made his eyes glimmer. The kind of smile that Stiles knew promised some kind of ridiculously corny moment.

“He’s right, those are the rules, Stiles.” Lydia easily played along.

Stiles couldn’t bring himself to mind his partners ganging up on him like this. “Oh yeah? Well then, what did you have in mind?”

“Would you give me a dance?” Before Stiles leaned their foreheads together (because he just couldn’t with this sap) he had just the time to notice Derek smirk and his romantic eyes — because really, that was the only fitting description for that look. Romantic eyes were not a kind of eyes, they were a kind of look. The exact look Derek had like 70% of the time they were alone together.

“You can’t just say things like that, Derek, one of these days my heart is just going to stop instead of skip a beat.”

“Well, try not to skip a beat while we dance.” Derek said with a smirk as Lydia turned off the radio and started playing a song on her phone instead.

Stiles gave her a playfully accusing glare when he recognized the beginning of _Thinking Out Loud_. “Really? You too? I am in love with the corniest saps!”

Instead of answering him, Derek took a gentle hold of both his hands and just started swaying on the rhythm. Lydia came up behind Stiles and put her hands on his waist to join the dance. Stiles was very put-off by the fact that he couldn’t see his beautiful girlfriend while they danced though, so he made sure to bring her to the middle. When she finally stood in front of Stiles, Stiles leaned down to kiss her lips at the same time as Derek went to press his lips to the soft skin just below her ear.

The moment was so perfectly quiet and intimate, it made Stiles wish more than ever that Ed Sheeran wrote longer songs. The whole corny slow dance in the middle of the kitchen made Stiles’ heart flutter so much that he couldn’t even bring himself to regret the fact that the dance didn’t really lend itself to twirling around in his pretty dress.

When the song ended, Derek herded them all to the bedroom where they continued to make out for a bit. And by the time they’d worked up an appetite again, Stiles’ cake was cool enough to eat. Which they did, in their PJ’s — Derek in his wolf onesie — while cuddling up on the couch.

“So, is this just about the clothes and the look for you, Stiles, or do you want us to use different pronouns?” Lydia asked with a hand lightly feeling through Stiles’ hair. And huh… Stiles hadn’t actually given it all that much thought. This had all just happened really. A couple of ideas that had led to him feeling great and pretty and… fundamentally still just the same guy as he was before.

“Nah, it’s just about being pretty. And about having the most sensitive legs ever.” He turned to his boyfriend, “Seriously Derek, shaving your legs right before loving make-out sessions: 10/10 would recommend.”

“I’ll give it a try someday.” Derek easily agreed.

“Make sure that you do, and use Lydia’s shaving cream, it smells great.” That comment earned Stiles a slap against the back of his head. He really should have known not to use Lydia’s stuff. “Okidoki, anyone else want something to drink?” Which was an escape plan Stiles was quite proud of.

“I’m good.” Derek and Lydia answered while he was already in the doorway of the kitchen. And just as Stiles opened the fridge, he heard Lydia say the one thing that managed to put a damper on his evening. “Oh he’s going to be so pissed when he finds out he’s going to have to go through that hassle every two days.”

“What?!” Stiles squeaked and bumped his head hard on the top of the fridge.

But that was what love was all about. Being able to forget all about your pain when you see two people laughing about it on the couch. Because sure, there were still quite a few things that Stiles wanted to change about himself, but if there was one thing that Stiles would never give up for the entire world, it’s his ability make those two giggling idiots on his couch happy.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave some kudos or a comment if you enjoyed! :D


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